Link Building SEO: Correct way to use links to your site

Link building is the gasoline that powers Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Its job is to build a site's value in the eyes of a search engine.

There is a lot of misunderstanding around the subject of link building. As a result, most people build links that don't help improve their search engine ranking.

SEO Link Basics

A link is a connection between one web page and another. A person who clicks a link on one web page will be taken to the page being linked to.

Search engines regard a link from one web page to another as a vote in favour of that page. As a general rule of thumb, the more links a web page gets the higher it will rank in search engines.

In a search engine's 'mind' links are not created equal. The value of a web page that links to your site is taken into account. If your site has nothing but low value links, it won't necessarily help you rank higher in search engines. Of course, it won't hurt either.

Link Tips

A link will normally only convey SEO value to your site if it's a one-way link (from them to you). If you're merely swapping links with friends, the two links will essentially cancel each other out.

To gain SEO value, you'll need to find ways to generate one-way links to your site. Click on my author profile below for 66 different link building ideas.

It's also worth noting that links between different pages on your site also count. In fact, I recommend you examine your site structure and look for ways to increase the links you send to key pages.

2 Ways to Convey SEO Value through Links

There are 2 ways to convey SEO value through links. They are...

1. Link juice
2. Contextual links

Link juice is a term that imagines SEO value to be a liquid, and describes its flow from one web site to another. For example, imagine that the BBC linked to you from its homepage (we all live in hope).

Link juice is said to flow through the link and land on your site. The more valuable a site is in the eyes of a search engine, the more link juice it has to send to your site. This directly impacts on your own search engine ranking.

A contextual link is one that contains a keyword phrase. That is, the clickable text in the link is a search term. For example, the following is a contextual link: Dental Root Canal Treatment.

A search engine creates an association between the keyword phrase in the link and the web page its linking to. This association helps the web page being linked to by improving its ranking for that particular keyword phrase.

The best kind of link is a contextual link from a high value site because it sends plenty of link juice (i.e. SEO value), and it creates a keyword association for the page being linked to.

Think Deep

Most non-professionals think about link building in terms of a site's homepage. But search engines are interested in the entire site, and assess its overall value. If you only get links to your site's homepage you'll struggle to fully realize the potential of SEO to send visitors to your site.

Each key pages on your site should have its own keyword focus. This then provides the keyword phrases required to create contextual links.

When generating links to sub-pages on your site helps improve the SEO value of the entire site. This is partly due to the principle that 'all ships rise on a rising tide', and is also the result of the way link juice flows throughout your site.

If you do happen to secure a link from a high value site such as the BBC, the resulting SEO value arrives at the page on your site being linked to. If that page links to other pages on your site (as it should do), link juice will spread to those pages and benefit your entire site as a result.